Appendix 3.
Self-assessment checklist for local partners
 
The checklist on the next few pages sets out some of the high-level practical issues around mental health services raised in this report. NHS boards and councils, and other partners where relevant, should assess themselves against each statement as appropriate and consider which statement most accurately reflects their current situation. This will enable NHS boards and councils to identify what actions need to be taken forward.

Self-assessment for improving mental health services
The last column in the checklist can be used to record sources of evidence, supplementary comments to support your assessment or to highlight areas of interest.

Assessment of current position		
	No – action needed	No – but action in hand	Yes – in place but needs improving 	Yes – in place and working well	Not applicable	
Comments	
We collect and monitor data on mental health services staff, including details about caseloads and vacancies.
This information is comparable and shared across the NHS and councils for benchmarking staffing levels and to help to identify service planning.							
We collect data and monitor waiting times for mental health services.
We are taking action to address services with long waiting times.							
We have identified any gaps in services, including services for children and young people and older people and the availability of psychological therapies.
We have an action plan in place to address these gaps.							
We routinely consider the views and needs of service users and carers, including people who are likely to be excluded from society, as part of service development.							
We involve the voluntary sector in the development and planning of mental health services to ensure the needs of the local population are met.							
We provide child and adolescent services up to the age of 18, in line with national guidance.							
We collect information on personal characteristics of people using mental health services, such as age, gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation, to allow monitoring of equality and diversity and to develop services to meet their needs.							
We have systems in place to allow the sharing of information about people with mental health needs to ensure they receive coordinated and joined-up care.							
We have crisis services in place which meet local demand for all age groups, in line with national guidance.							
We work with partners, including prisons and the police, to deliver joined-up services with clear referral processes for people with mental health problems.							
We collect information about community mental health services for the planning and development of services, including:
•	the number of people receiving treatment
•	what treatment is being provided, for whom and for how long
•	outcomes for people being treated
•	size of caseloads
•	staffing levels and vacancies
•	the amount of joint funding by the NHS, councils and other partners.							
We have reviewed crisis and out-of-hours services and plans are in place to address any gaps.							
We have reviewed the number of adolescent inpatient beds and taken action to ensure that provision meets demand.							
We have reviewed bed numbers and occupancy levels to ensure that resources are being put to best use (eg, we have reviewed if there is scope to reduce the number of beds and develop more community services).							
We have financial information, monitoring and planning processes in place for mental health services. In particular, we:
•	identify and analyse costs across all key mental health services
•	have clear links between budgets and mental health strategies and service plans
•	involve key staff providing mental health services in the financial planning process
•	are able to provide evidence of effective use of resources and demonstrate value for money.							
We promote self-directed payments to ensure people with mental health problems can take a more active role in their recovery.							
We are monitoring the shift in the balance of care from hospital to community mental health services to ensure that resources to support this change are transferred as necessary.							
We are monitoring council funding for services for people with mental health problems to assess the impact of the removal of ring-fenced funding and to ensure it is matched to outcomes and that services are based on local need.